About our authors

Jill K. Robinson received her Ph.D. in analytical and atmospheric chemistry from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She is a senior lecturer at Indiana University and teaches general, analytical, and environmental chemistry courses. Her clear and relatable teaching style has been honored with several awards including the President’s Award for Distinguished Teaching at Indiana University and the J. Calvin Giddings Award for Excellence in Education from the American Chemical Society Division of Analytical Chemistry. She leads workshops to help faculty transition from lecture-based instruction to student-centered pedagogies.

John McMurry, educated at Harvard and Columbia, has taught more than 20,000 students in general and organic chemistry over a 40-year period. An emeritus professor of chemistry at Cornell University, Dr. McMurry previously spent 13 years on the faculty at the University of California at Santa Cruz. He has received numerous awards, including the Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship (1969—71), the National Institute of Health Career Development Award (1975—80), the Alexander von Humboldt Senior Scientist Award (1986—87), and the Max Planck Research Award (1991).

Robert C. Fay, professor emeritus at Cornell University, taught general and inorganic chemistry at Cornell for 45 years beginning in 1962. Known for his clear, well-organized lectures, Dr. Fay was the 1980 recipient of the Clark Distinguished Teaching Award. He has also taught as a visiting professor at Harvard University and the University of Bologna (Italy). A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Oberlin College, Dr. Fay received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois. He has been an NSF Science Faculty Fellow at the University of East Anglia and the University of Sussex (England) and a NATO/Heineman Senior Fellow at Oxford University.